marathon House of Assembly debate on the economy.

Deputy Opposition Leader Mr. Walter Roberts opened his speech by attacking NLP Leader Mr. Gilbert Darrell.

"After the motion was made we have not heard of the NLP,'' said Mr. Roberts.

"It's been a battle between the PLP and the UBP. The NLP has got lost in the woods.

Speaking about his constituency, he claimed there was an area of Sandys where unemployment stood at 29 percent.

Owner of the Somerset Bridge Hotel which is currently in receivership, Mr.

Roberts said: "In Bermuda we have a number of hotels in dire straits. What would happen if one of the bigger hotels got into difficulty.

"Former hotel staff are still finding difficulties getting work. I employed 20 people at the Somerset Bridge -- only half of them have found work.'' Mr. Roberts added his name to those members calling for the introduction of retraining schemes.

He said he did not plan to speak, but could not miss a chance to be part of "this historic debate -- historic in regard to its length and historic in that it will probably be the last time I will be in this House and see a UBP Government actually doing Government business.'' Mrs. Grace Bell (UBP) said the current recession was the worst since the 1930s or '40s, but "we've kept the ship of state on course''.

Mr. Darrell's motion "has suddenly caused this Government to shine over the last 24 hours,'' she said.

While the Opposition emphasised the lack of training programmes, many Bermudians, particularly women, had been changing careers and retraining for years, she said.

Voters should not be fooled into believing things would return to the way they were in the 1980s. "That's a bygone era, and we must face the future.'' Turning to a recent report from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Mrs. Bell noted the report commented unfavourably on the accounts of the Bermuda Industrial Union Credit Union. Yet while union members were suffering, nothing was heard about union chiefs cutting their salaries "even two percent''.

Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade said Mr. Cox's presentation was "brilliant,'' while Mr. Hall's was "sizzling''.

"More like psychotic,'' Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul shouted. Mr.

Wade said he believed there was "some collusion between the Government and the NLP,'' because he was unable to learn how the motion benefited the NLP.

Mr. Darrell "lost control of it, in fact.'' While Dr. Saul thought he was the greatest Finance Minister ever, he in fact worsened the recession, Mr. Wade claimed.

As for the report on the BIU Credit Union cited by Mrs. Bell, Mr. Wade said the report was for 1991-92 when "we were in the middle of a recession''. The credit union's income "totally depends upon the climate on the labour front,'' as it could only have BIU members.

"If you start to gloat over the difficulties they're having, take a look at what the Government has done,'' he said.

At no time had any PLP member or candidate stated that Cabinet Ministers should have a salary of $125,000, Mr. Wade said. In an interview, he told his party's Press officer there would be two or three full-time Cabinet Ministers in a PLP Government, but "we never discussed money''.

Talk of exempted companies leaving the Island if the PLP won the election was UBP "propaganda,'' Mr. Wade said.

Exempted companies wanted stability, and intelligent people realised that stability could only exist in a two-party democracy if both parties had an equal chance and could run the country.

"It's part of the scare tactics that are being used to frighten people into voting for the UBP,'' whose polls did not satisfy them of a clear majority.

"There's nobody endowed with the divine right to rule, least of all members of the UBP.'' Civil servants carried out the orders and Government made policy, Mr. Wade said.

"Some countries go into debt to help shape the economy. The UBP practice is something like pay-as-you-go.'' He called on the Government to introduce a retraining programme to get the Island's jobless back into work.

Concerning the US bases, Mr. Wade said he had been involved with the bases since 1963. He said: "I dislike the idea of 10 percent of our land mass being occupied by an alien body without payment of sufficient rent.

"I have asked numerous governors how they would feel if the Germans had 10 percent of your land. You started two world wars to stop that.'' Mr. Wade pointed out that America had to pay the Philippines millions of dollars to protect their interests in the Far East.

He said: "Bermuda is here protecting America's actual body. Bermuda is of more importance to the United States because we are protecting her actual physical safety.'' He said Government had gone to the United States cap-in-hand without anything to bargain with, even though the US still had 45 years of its lease remaining.

Concerning statements that international business interests would leave the Island if the PLP were elected, he said: "Any Government who would lose half of its gross domestic product would be mad. If it happened in the first week the government would not last too long.

"This debate has given the House a chance to have the first election campaign discussions. This is the first round of the campaign.'' Mr. Wade added that he had heard the Government planned a filibuster to "illuminate its portfolio'' and prevent the Opposition from giving its views.

But he said the Opposition decided to take the initiative. "If Dr. Saul was going to talk for two hours Mr. Hall spoke for three and a half hours.'' The Hon. Sidney Stallard (UBP) described the present state of the economy as "very, very good''.

Mr. Stallard said: "The islands to the south of us are seeing the hotels and cruise ships in a big struggle. This Government over the years has managed the tourism industry very well.

"There are always complaints of there not being enough cruise ships but this Government has held firm over years and kept the situation stable between the cruise ships and the hotels. "We are probably the only country in the world that has turned down cruise ships.'' Two fears about the PLP were that it would move for independence and introduce income tax, Mr. Stallard said. Income tax "would be a total disaster for Bermuda.'' Mr. Wade had said Government should take its pension funds and put them out on long-term mortgages. "All we would need then is maybe one or two bad years when our revenues are down ... and have no funds left to pay the old age pensions.

"That's the kind of financial policies we're getting from that side of the House.'' The PLP's tendency to link all issues to race "looks like a deliberate attempt to sabotage this Government and sabotage this Island,'' he said. He could not understand the talk about not enough training programmes or activities for young. There were night schools, and "there are plenty of charities around here that need help.

"Everything seems to be gimme, gimme, gimme.'' Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan , the final speaker, began by commending Mr.

Darrell for his motion.

The motion was appropriate when Parliament was adjourning for the summer, Bermuda saw early signs of emerging from the recession, there was talk of an election, and "many people in the community want to find out what is the basic core of ideals of our community to assure that when we move ahead we move ahead in a way that is understood by the public at large.'' The debate was extremely significant, but "what went wrong?'' Sir John asked.

Dr. Saul came prepared with a 17-page report "that reflected the Government's views on the financial affairs of the country.'' With a proper Opposition response, "the Country could have gained a lot,'' but Mr. Cox "almost looked as if he was caught by surprise. He was not prepared.'' Instead of a cohesive response to Dr. Saul's presentation, the PLP accused Government of filibustering and said "we're going to filibuster''.

Dr. Saul's document was more important than any budget and should be available for all Bermudians to read. "These can be potentially perilous times,'' Sir John said.

Many countries were "on the junk heap of virtual bankruptcy,'' and "somehow we get the perception that it can never happen to us. But we're wrong. It can happen to us.

"It takes careful management.'' Mr. Darrell's motion was probably more important than any legislation before the House in the session. "To have one Member stand up for three hours and say he's going to put the public to sleep ...,'' he said in reference to Mr.

Hall.

Sir John said he understood the PLP tried to "sabotage'' Mr. Darrell's motion so it would not be debated.

"Bermuda is at a crossroad -- a very serious crossroad,'' he said. "I have dedicated 11 years of my life to this Country without looking after my personal affairs ... because I realised these are perilous times.'' The Americans had told Bermuda they were winding down bases around the world and Government has had talks with Washington "to determine if there were any grounds on which our bases could stay here. That's what we're pursuing.'' With a first-class airport receiving flights from 13 gateway cities "maintaining this base in Bermuda is of critical importance,'' Sir John said.

It is not just the economics, but "security of manpower and everything else.

"We have a skilled manpower shortage,'' and "our best bet is to negotiate some way by which the Airport is not closed ... maybe partially partitioned or something of that type.

"We do know that some time toward the end of the year Bermuda will come up for further consideration,'' he said. "We'll be pursuing that relentlessly.

It's very important. The economics are enormous.'' Bermuda would be forced to either raise taxes or cut services, he said.

Government also had to monitor the US attitude toward the Island's tax rate.

"Clinton is anxious to get his capital back on shore.